One of the most important market research tools is a good questionnaire. A questionnaire, whether it is called a schedule, interview form, or measuring instrument, is a formalized set of questions for obtaining information from respondents. Typically, a questionnaire is only one element of a data collection package that might also include:
- Communication aids, such as maps, picture, advertisement, and products (as in personal interviews)
- Some reward, gift, or payment offered to respondents
- Field work procedures, such as instruction for selecting, approaching, and questioning respondent
Any questionnaire has three specific objectives. First, it must translate the information needed into a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer. However, developing these questions can be challenging.
Second, a questionnaire must uplift, motivate, and encourage the respondent to become involved in the interview in order to complete it. Incomplete interviews have limited usefulness at best. While designing a questionnaire, the researcher should strive to minimize respondent fatigue and boredom in order to minimize incomplete and non-responses.
Third, while designing a questionnaire great care should be taken in order to minimize response error. A bad questionnaire can be a major source of response error. Minimizing this error is an important objective of questionnaire design.
Surveyo™ is a highly effective market research tool, which comes with effective ready questionnaires and survey templates. Surveyo™ greatly reduces response errors and hence facilitates obtaining complete and accurate information. It is an integrated web survey software that gives you unparalleled flexibility to collect, manage and report on feedback from different stakeholders to improve the way you implement your market research. Learn More ›